Black in Indiana

Event Details

This talk explores the earliest settlement of African Americans in Indiana in the southwestern portion of the state and what they faced in residing here. It focuses on a little-known State Supreme Court case (Mary Bateman Clark vs. General Washington Johnston) that set a precedent for ending indentured servitude/slavery in Indiana. This case is the centerpiece of the talk’s focus on the importance of documenting Black heritage. This presentation covers how this history was researched and what it has led to today, including the speaker’s book, Black in Indiana.

Eunice Trotter (she/her) holds journalism undergraduate degrees and an MBA. She was the owner of The Indianapolis Recorder, the first African American editor at The Indianapolis Star and held editing or reporting positions at several other newspapers, including The New York Post, Florida Today, The Palm Beach Post and The Lafayette Journal and Courier. She was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame. She recently published her first book, Black in Indiana, which has received state and national first-place awards. Eunice is now director of Indiana Landmark’s Black Heritage Preservation Program. Her job and her passion are to uncover, document and preserve Black heritage statewide.